Netherlands: MP calls for public servants headscarf ban

MP Jeanine Hennis from the ruling free-market liberal party VVD is calling for a ban on wearing Muslim headscarves by public servants who work at town halls. The politician says that all religions are equal in her eyes and that the ban should include all religious symbols.

Ms Hennis made her comments during an interview with freesheet De Pers. “When do you wear the headscarf? I’d like to instigate a debate on the matter – an open discussion on the separation between church and state,” she said. The VVD MP said she’d also like universities and schools to participate in the debate but that the Christian parties stand in the way of bringing the subject into the open. “They regard it as an infringement on freedom of religion,” she added.